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<p><SPAN class="big"> Apple Pie, Rayguns, and Evil Overlords -- FogCon 2012 </SPAN> <SPAN class="dateline"> 30.2.2012 15.00h</SPAN></p>
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<li class="tags">
Tropes
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<li class="tags">
Cliches
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<DIV class="intro">
Tropes encode vast bits of narrative, bringing up memories of other things we've read and seen and relieving the author of some of the burden of exposition. How does this work? Where do tropes come from? What is their lifecycle? (That is, how do they segue from cognitive triggers and narrative support elements to tedious vehicles for cliche?) Can we catalog tropes? What is the, uh, scope of a trope? (Sorry.) Do scopes map nicely to subgenres?
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<DIV class="panelists">
<ul>
<li>Naamen Tilahun</li>
<li>Daniel Marcus</li>
<li>Valerie Frankel</li>
<li>Daniel Starr (M)
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</ul>
<h3 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h3>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/006091291X">Bolen, Jean Shinoda. Goddess in Everywoman</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0142407224">Wynn-Jones, Dianna. Tough Guide to Fantasyland</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rhetorics-Fantasy-Farah-Mendlesohn/dp/0819568686">Mendlesohn, Farah. Rhetorics of Fantasy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Encyclopedia-Fantasy-John-Clute/dp/0312198698">Grant, John. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1857238974">Nicholls, Peter, and Clute, John. The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0313259615">Ashliman, D.L. A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System</a>
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</ul>
<h3 id="example-stories">Example Stories:</h3>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553384031">Valente, Cat. The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden</a> a feminist approach to the Arabian Nights</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Redshirts-A-Novel-Three-Codas/dp/0765316994/">Scalzi, John. Redshirts</a> Take on the Star Trek trope of Redshirts dying in every episode</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Steel-Seraglio-Mike-Carey/dp/1926851536">Carey, Mike et al. Steel Seraglio</a> exiled concubines survive exiled in the desert</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tongues-Volume-Hexslinger-Series/dp/0981297862">Files, Gemma. A Book of Tongues</a> Post civil war Pinkerton magickian</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Sarah-Beth-Durst/dp/1595141855">Durst, Sarah Beth. Into the Wild</a> Fairy-tale creatuers invade the 'real world'.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swordspoint-Ellen-Kushner/dp/0553585495">Kushner, Ellen. Swordspoint</a> Fantasy novel in very nonstandard setting, character driven.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-The-Book-Ash/dp/0380788691">Gentle, Mary. A Secret History</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Haven-Rain-Wilds-Chronicles/dp/B004F9OV5M">Hobb, Robin. Dragon Haven</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/City-Pearl-Karen-Traviss/dp/0060541695">Travis, Karen. City of Pearl</a> main character is an eco-cop</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Much-Just-Planet-Star-Trek/dp/0671038591">Ford, John M. How Much For Just the Planet?</a> Star Trek spoof
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<h3 id="notes">Notes</h3>
<div class="notes">
<p>Favorite Tropes: * Valerie: chiched elves, dwarves, and evil lords * Daniel M: connection of riffs of written tropes and riffs in music, generation starships; * Naamen: Implied Lesbian Space Queen; * Daniel S: Little Girl Brings World Revolution, Student Learns Cool Skill(s)</p>
<p>Other resources: (than <a href="http://TVTropes.org/">TV Tropes</a>)</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.calithwain.com/">Valerie Frankel's Fairytale Resources</a></li>
<li>Daniel M. - previous literature (e.g., Shakespeare, Rible, fairy tales)</li>
<li>Naamen - celebrity gossip -- memes and tropes that get applied to celebrities are hard to shake</li>
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<p>Dan S.: Talking animals are common in the tales of the lower classes but not in the tales of the nobles. Naamen: We must be clear which people's tales are under consideration Valerie: Animal helpers are not that different from human helpers</p>
<p>Violoated Tropes PISS OFF readers</p>
<p>In India, there <em>are</em> animals in royal tales. In Japan, animal characters are fully agented.</p>
<p>Tropes make statements about the readers.</p>
<p>Where animals are more &quot;owned&quot; they have less imporances than where they are not owned.</p>
<p>V. Propp classified slavic fairy tales</p>
<p>Dan S.: Try a mashup cross genres, tropes from other genres can energize a story. E.g., Star Wars -- fantasy trope in SF land</p>
<p>The trope of the female protagonist who gives it all up for love is old and annoying, a protagonist who returns from power back to mundane life.</p>
<p>Interrupted tropes must have something set up previously in the story to allow for the interruption. But (Dan M.) don't rely on the trope for the full story.</p>
<p>Naamen: try something counter to the trope, like e.g., an antagonistic animal companion.</p>
<p>The Big Bad - is a single personal enemy.</p>
<p>Naamen -- one trope is about an eldler advisor who knows something about the protagonist's past history but won't tell the protagonist. (Dumbledore and Harry Potter)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality">Wrong, Less. Harry Potter &amp; the Methods of Rationality.</a> What would happen if Harry Potter had scientific traning before becoming a wizard.</p>
<p>Bring tropes where they don't belong (e.g., Durst's <em>Into the Wild</em>).</p>
<p>A lot of tropes have some priviledged point of view built in.</p>
<p>The new Battlestar Galactica leads the audience to sympathize with people in occupied countries.</p>
<p>Please no more &quot;Boy &amp; His Dragon&quot; stories.</p>
<p>Doing amazing characters can make tired tropes fresh. They must have something they care about, something they need.</p>
<p>Bad stories often result when tropes overwhelm begining writers in the genre.</p>
<p>Figure out ways to twist a trope, do it differently. Write a subgenre they don't like or read less. Depart from your comfort zone.</p>
<p>Develop a sense of smell aobut your own work.</p>
<p>Must refresh and and all tropes in the story. A simple inversion is not enough!</p>
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